Mark42
Fleet Admiral
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2003
- Messages
- 9,334
Am I beeing too stubborn insisting on using polyester resin instead of epoxy?
I have been pricing out the difference, and although the price is 2 to 3 times more for epoxy, I will probably only need about 2 gallons for the hard top project. That is about $110 epoxy (not West system brand) vs 50 for polyester.
But the biggest plus I see is I can use a much more rigid and surface coat free styrene foam instead of polyisocyanurate. One of the problems I had with polyisocyanruate that is available at the home centers is the paper face is darn hard to get off, and it's density is very low. The styrene foam is much higher density sands easy, stays rigid without a glass coating, and takes my simple impact test very well.
I have epoxy setting up on some styrofoam out in the garage right now. In a few hours, I give it the peel off test and see how well it holds onto styrene (it should, those sail boards I see are often made out of it).
I really would like to make the hard top out of foam. Switching to epoxy will let me do that.
I already bought and returned 4 sheets of polyisocyanurate foam to Home Depot, then bought the 1/4" ply. I have not cut into the 1/4" ply I bought Wednesday, so I can still return it and buy the pink rigid styrofoam.
My wife thinks I am losing it.
I have been pricing out the difference, and although the price is 2 to 3 times more for epoxy, I will probably only need about 2 gallons for the hard top project. That is about $110 epoxy (not West system brand) vs 50 for polyester.
But the biggest plus I see is I can use a much more rigid and surface coat free styrene foam instead of polyisocyanurate. One of the problems I had with polyisocyanruate that is available at the home centers is the paper face is darn hard to get off, and it's density is very low. The styrene foam is much higher density sands easy, stays rigid without a glass coating, and takes my simple impact test very well.
I have epoxy setting up on some styrofoam out in the garage right now. In a few hours, I give it the peel off test and see how well it holds onto styrene (it should, those sail boards I see are often made out of it).
I really would like to make the hard top out of foam. Switching to epoxy will let me do that.
I already bought and returned 4 sheets of polyisocyanurate foam to Home Depot, then bought the 1/4" ply. I have not cut into the 1/4" ply I bought Wednesday, so I can still return it and buy the pink rigid styrofoam.
My wife thinks I am losing it.